So, I just spent 6 weeks in Marbella Spain as a Temporary Travel Nanny for a family with two babies. Marbella is a part of Spain I had never visited before, so I was excited to get out and about and explore. MB (Mom boss) and I flew to Malaga and then drove 40 minutes to Marbella to their villa. The babies were great on the plane until about the last hour, they were tired as we flew at lunchtime and typically they both fell asleep as we landed. Why do children always do that?! So, getting off the plane with two sleeping babies, 5 bags and 2 prams was a mission. What could Marbella have in store for us?
Marbella is beautiful, lots of sandy beaches, palm trees, fun markets and surf cafes. When we arrived, it was low season and so it wasn’t busy at all, the temperatures in the morning and at night were quite chilly but in the middle of the day it got up to 28c.
A lot of our time was spent at the beach, I love the beach. I would recommend taking a visit to Playa Fontanilla and Playa Nagueles, which have luscious golden sand and stunning clear waters. But we spent most of our time at the closest one, South Beach, which was so convenient with the little ones and always full of locals.
Whilst on my day off, I took a trip out into town and whilst at Playa Del Faro beach I stumbled across something truly special. These incredible sand sculptures!!! Wow, I stood and watched the artist as he sat high up on scaffolding sculpting the face of a mythical male figure, it was clear to me that the artist always starts from the top and works his way down the sand, which would make complete sense if you thought about it. These sand sculptures were intellectual ownership of the sculptor and his work was not sponsored by the town hall, he worked purely for tourist entertainment and on donations/contributions.
The artist had a board with a bit of information on about his giant master pieces, so I’ve added them here for you to really understand just how much work goes into them.
- He uses 22 tons of sand
- Construction time – 250 hours
- Material – Beach sand and sea water
- Daily use of sea water – 3000 L
- Maintenance – Water spray every hour during the day, every two hours at night.
Sand art really is a special talent, when most of us struggle to build a single sand castle. The artist had also sculpted the characters from ‘Frozen’ the movie.
I also went and explored Old town or Casco Antiguo, built in 1485. A place where if I told you to imagine a Spanish town in your head this is what you would picture. Old town has such a lovely feel, little streets surrounded with white buildings, old stone and flowered balconies. In the center of it all Plaza de los Naranjos or orange square. Where you are surrounded by orange trees and beautiful Castilian Renaissance Architecture. You may sit around the square at your typical Spanish restaurants, eating Spanish cuisine while enjoying the beauty and smell of the oranges hanging from the trees.
Things to do with children in and around Marbella
We went out and explored a few different parks and attractions to mix up our days and we discovered some great places for families. A great place to visit as a family is the Selwo Adventura in Malaga. I couldn’t believe how big this place was, it honestly felt like I was back in South Africa at the Kruger National park. It was so wild, so much space for the animals to roam, you are able to go on a guided tour in a jeep and get up close to some of the animals at an extra cost, alternatively, you can walk the park yourself. They have some amazing activities to make you feel like you’re really in the jungle, hanging bridges, zip-lines over the lake and archery are just a few. They have lots of demonstrations on throughout the day also to educate children more on the different species of animals and their habitats. This is well worth a visit!
If you don’t fancy the huge day at the safari park and wanted just a morning or afternoon doing something, I would recommend the Bioparc in Fuengirola. We enjoyed this very much. In the heart of a town you wouldn’t expect to find a jungle paradise with tropical birds and exotic pets. The park was smaller than a zoo but had lots of the usual zoo animals, in naturalistic enclosures. It was clean, well-kept and the staff were friendly and spoke great English. This is well worth a visit for anyone with small children traveling around this area, wanting to see something exciting that doesn’t consume the whole day.
We also visited the Butterfly Park of Benalmadena. Located in the heart of Costa del Sol, home to around 1500 exotic butterflies. These butterflies fly freely between the flowers, waterfalls and tropical paradises. As you explore their habitat you gain a beautiful sense of tranquility and peace watching all the different colours and patterns fly by. Children under 3 go free, so it was a cheap day out for us with two little ones.
Tip – I would recommend eating out or bringing food with you to any of the parks as most of the cafes/ restaurants sell your typical takeaway fast food and a lot of Spanish food is very high in salt which of course is not always good for children.
Marbella has an amazing coast-line and the sunsets over the water, are simply stunning. One of the best things about Marbella is where it is situated, on a very clear day as you stare across the Mediterranean Sea, you can see Gibraltar, (another part of Spain) and Morocco and the African mountains. You are able to take a short journey by Ferry across the sea to Morocco and visit the city of Marrakesh. Nothing more satisfying than ticking off multiple locations on your bucket list, in one trip.
